1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, method, and apparatus for connecting users in an online system based on knowledge of personal information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Social networking has grown in popularity in recent years. There are patents for determining how to connect people based on a network model where each person represents a node of a network and the systems determine how to link people up based on the network. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,069,308 and 7,016,307 are examples of such linking processes. Both of these patents describe how to connect people based on their connections.
Dating services patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,389 connect one person to another based on personal preferences. For example, person A is connected to person B if they both have the same hobby. All prospective daters fill out the same questionnaire. The answers are compared and a score is created to determine “compatibility.”
Information verification patents involve using questions and answers to verify identity typically of an account holder such as a credit card holder. U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,560, for example, teaches a method by which passwords are not needed to identify a person.